International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)

ISSN (Online): 2319-7064

Index Copernicus Value (2013): 6.14 | Impact Factor (2013): 4.438

Analysis of Flat Slab

R.S.More1, V. S. Sawant2
1
M.E.Structure student of ICOER Pune, Savitribai Phule University of Pune, Maharashtra, India
2
Ass. professor of civil Engineering Department ICOER Pune, Savitribai Phule University of Pune, Maharashtra, India

Abstract: A popular form of concrete building construction uses a flat concrete slab (without beams) as the floor system. Flat slabs
analysis and design of flat slabs are still the active areas of research and there is still no general agreement on the best design
procedure. The present day Indian Standard Codes of Practice outline design procedures only for slabs with regular geometry and
layout. But in recent times, due to space crunch, height limitations and other factors, deviations from a regular geometry and regular
layout are becoming quite common. Also behavior and response of flat slabs during earthquake is a big question. This paper gives the
guidelines for analysis of flat slab.

Keywords: Flat slab, Lateral load, Punching Shear.

1. Introduction
The horizontal floor system resists the gravity load (dead
load and live load) acting on it and transmits this to the
vertical framing systems. In this process, the floor system is
subjected primarily to flexure and transverse shear, where as
the vertical frame elements are generally subjected to axial
compression, often coupled with flexure and shear. The floor
also serves as a horizontal diaphragm connecting together
and stiffening the various vertical frame elements. Under the
action of lateral loads, the floor diaphragms behave rigidly Figure 1.3: Two way ribbed (waffle) slab system
(owing to its high in plane flexural stiffness) and effectively
distribute the lateral load to the various vertical frame
elements and shear walls. In cast in situ reinforced concrete
construction the floor system usually consists of one of the
following

Figure 1.4: Flat Slab Systems

2. Flat slab
RC slabs with long spans extended over several bays and
Figure 1.1: Wall Supported slab systems
only supported by columns, without beams known as flat
slab. Flat slab system is very simple to construct and is
efficient in that it requires the minimum building height for a
given number of stories.

Such structure contains large bending moment and vertical

forces occur in a zone of supports. This gives a very efficient
structure which minimizes material usages and decreases the
economic span range when compared to reinforced concrete.
Post-tensioning improves the structural behavior of flat slab
structure considerably.
Figure 1.2: Beam Supported Slab System
This is more acceptable concept to many designers. It is
adopted in some office buildings. The flat slabs are plates
that are stiffened near the column supports by means of ‘drop

Volume 4 Issue 7, July 2015

www.ijsr.net
Paper ID: SUB156195 98
Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY
 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
ISSN (Online): 2319-7064
Index Copernicus Value (2013): 6.14 | Impact Factor (2013): 4.438
panels’ and/or ‘column capitals’ (which are generally
concealed under ‘drop ceilings’). Compared to the flat plate
system, the flat slab system is suitable for higher loads and
larger spans, because of enhanced capacity in resisting shear
and hogging moments near the supports. The slab thickness
varies from 125 mm to 300 mm for spans of 4 to 9m. Among
the various floor systems, the flat slab system is the one with
the highest dead load per unit area.

In general, in this type of system, 100 percent of the slab load

has to be transmitted by the floor system in both directions
(transverse and longitudinal) towards the columns. In such
cases the entire floor system and the columns act integrally in
a two- way frame action.

Some terminologies involved

Figure 2.2: Some evident of flat slab failure

a) In this new skeleton building with flat slabs and small

structural columns designed to carry gravity loads, the only
bracing against horizontal forces and displacements is a
reinforced concrete elevator and stairway shaft, placed
very asymmetrically at the corner of the building. There is
a large eccentricity between the centres of mass and
Figure 2.1: Drop panel and column capital resistance or stiffness. Twisting in the plan, lead to large
relative displacements in the columns furthest away from
Drop Panels: The 'drop panel' is formed by the local the shaft and, this implies the danger of punching shear
thickening of the slab in the neighborhood of the supporting failure.
column. Drop panels or simply drops are provided mainly for b) Punching Shear Failure in the Main Roof at corner
the purpose of reducing shear stress around the column Column.
supports. They also help in reducing the steel requirements c) This multi-floor parking garage collapsed like a stack of
for the negative moments at the column supports. The code cards while some of the neighbouring buildings remained
recommends that drops should be rectangular in plan, and undamaged. Flat slab construction was the most vulnerable
have length in each direction not less than one third of the construction type with 85 total collapses during the 1985
panel length in that direction. For exterior panels, the length quake at Germany.
measured perpendicular to the discontinuous edge from the d) In this building as in many others, the load-bearing column
column centerline should be taken as one half of the forced through the concrete floors as they collapsed around
corresponding width of drop for the interior panel. it. Severe resonance oscillations of the buildings caused
strain at the juncture between columns and ceiling slabs;
Column Capital: The column capital or column head the concrete structure was destroyed and the steel
provided at the top of a column is intended primarily to reinforcements were strained until they failed. The vertical
increase the capacity of the slab to resist punching shear. The columns were compressed or (as in this picture) punched
flaring of the column at top is generally done such that the through the heavy floors that collapsed around them.
plan geometry at the column head is similar to that of the
column. The code restricts the structurally useful portion of 2.1 Advantages of Flat Slab
the column capital to that portion which lies within the
largest (inverted) pyramid or right circular cone which has a  Increases speed of construction
vertex angle of 90°, and can be included entirely within the  The construction is simple and economical because of the
outlines of the column and the column head. This is based on simplified form work, the ease of placement of
the assumptions of a 45° failure plane, outside of which reinforcement.
enlargement of the support is considered ineffective in  The plain ceiling gives an attractive and pleasing
transferring shear to the column. appearance; in absence of beams, provision of acoustical
treatment is easy.
Some evident of flat slab failure:  In general flat slab construction is economical for spans up
to 10m and relatively light loads.
 Compare to the RCC less self weight, which results in
reduced dead load, which also has a beneficial effect upon
the columns and foundations

Volume 4 Issue 7, July 2015

www.ijsr.net
Paper ID: SUB156195 99
Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY
 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
ISSN (Online): 2319-7064
Index Copernicus Value (2013): 6.14 | Impact Factor (2013): 4.438
 Reduces the overall height of buildings or enables lines.
additional floors to be incorporated in buildings of a given
height. Design Philosophy
There are three methods of analysis of flat slabs viz.
2.2 Major problems in flat slab 1 Direct Design Method (DDM)
2 Equivalent Frame Method (EFM)
 Slab column connection does not possess the rigidity of the 3 Finite Element Method (FEM)
beam column joint.
 Shear concentration around column is very high due to the Out of this, first 2 methods are recommended by the I.S. code
possibility of the column punching through the slab. for determining the bending moments in the slab panel
 Deflections tend to be very large due to lesser depth of (approximate methods); either method is acceptable
slab. (provided the relevant conditions are satisfied).These
methods are applicable only to two way rectangular slabs
3. Methods of Analysis of Flat Slab (not one way slabs), and in the case of direct design method
the recommendations apply to the gravity loading condition
Behavior of two-way slab system under gravity and lateral alone (and not to the lateral load condition).
loads is complex. In the case of beam supported two way
slabs, 100% of gravity loads on the slabs are transmitted to Finite Element Method
the supporting columns in both longitudinal at transverses The structures having irregular types of plans with which the
directions. The mechanism of load transfer from slab to EFM has limitations in analysis can be analyzed without any
columns is achieved by flexure, shear & torsion in various difficulties by the FEM. FEM is a powerful tool used in the
elements. The slab beam columns system behaves integrally analysis of flat slabs. Most finite element programs are based
as a three dimensional system, with the involvement of all the on elastic moment distribution and material that obey
floors of the building, to resist not only gravity loads, but Hooke's Law. This works for steel plates but reinforced
also lateral loads. However a rigorous three dimensional concrete is an elasto-plastic material and ones it cracks its
analysis of the structure is complex, & not warranted except behavior is non linear. As a consequence the support
in very exceptional structures. Unlike the planer frames, in moments tend to be overestimated and the deflection of the
which beam moments are transferred directly to columns, slab is under estimated. Currently, one of the main criticisms
slab moments are transferred indirectly, due to tensional of the FEM analysis is its reliance on the elastic solutions
flexibility of the slab. Also slab moments from gravity can that result in high peaked support moments over the column.
leak from loaded to unloaded spans; this must be accounted These support moments are unlikely to be realized under
for, in the analysis. service loads due to cracking and thus the service span
moments will be correspondingly increased. While using
Presently, the Indian Standard Codes provide the guidelines finite element method following considerations are
for design of flat slabs. These are basically empirical and are important.
supported by the vast experimentation. But since the standard 1)Choice of a proper finite element.
experimentation has been done on standard layouts and 2)Degree of disceretisation
configuration of the slabs; these design procedures are 3)Overall computational economy.
limited in their scope and applicability. Nowadays, irregular
layouts are becoming common, and it is in this light that Hence various finite element models are possible for the
standard codal procedures seem Inadequate. same problem. A model which can take into account all the
important structural effects at the least computational cost is
Code Definition of Flat Slabs called as the best model.
"The term flat slab means a reinforced concrete slab with or
without drops, supported generally without beams, by Dynamic Analysis
columns with or without flared heads. A flat slab may be 1. Coefficient Method
solid slab or may have recesses formed on the soffit so that a 2. Response Spectrum method
soffit comprises a series of ribs in two directions. The recess 3. Time History Method
may be formed of permanent or removable filler blocks.
4. Conclusion
A flat slab is reinforced concrete flat slab reinforced in two
or more directions to bring the load acting normal to its plane Flat slab system is very simple to construct, and is efficient in
directly to supporting columns without the help of any beam that it requires the minimum building height for a given
or girder." The above definition is very broad and number of stories. Unfortunately, earthquake experience has
encompasses the various possible column supported two-way proved that this form of construction is vulnerable to failure,
slabs mentioned earlier. As mentioned earlier the code when not designed and detailed properly, in which the thin
procedure is based on the elastic analysis of equivalent concrete slab fractures around the supporting columns and
frames under the gravity loads and follows closely the 1997 drops downward, leading potentially to a complete
version of the ACI code. However unlike the unified code progressive collapse of a building as one floor cascades
procedure, there is no elaboration in the I.S code for the down onto the floors below. This paper gives information
particular case of two way slab with beams along column about major issues associated with the flat slab and different

Volume 4 Issue 7, July 2015

www.ijsr.net
Paper ID: SUB156195 100
Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY
 International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR)
ISSN (Online): 2319-7064
Index Copernicus Value (2013): 6.14 | Impact Factor (2013): 4.438
method for analysis of flat slab use to confirm the behavior
of flat slab.

References
[1] Suzanne King, Norbert J. Delette (February, 2004)
"Collapse of 2000 Commonwealth Avenue: Punching
Shear Case study" journal of performance of constructed
facilities
[2] H. S. Kirn, D. G. Lee (October, 2005) "Efficient analysis
of flat slab structures subjected to lateral loads",
Engineering structures 27
[3] IS 1893 (Part 1):2002 Criteria For Earthquake Resistant
Design Of Structures
[4] IS 456: 2000 Plain & reinforced concrete code of
practice.

Volume 4 Issue 7, July 2015

www.ijsr.net
Paper ID: SUB156195 101
Licensed Under Creative Commons Attribution CC BY